Niewenhuis powers Brewers past Cubs

Milwaukee Brewers’ Kirk Nieuwenhuis (right) is greeted by Jonathan Lucroy after hitting a three-run home run off Chicago Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomery during the eighth inning on Saturday in Milwaukee. Milwaukee won 6-1.(Photo: AP)

MILWAUKEE - Can the Milwaukee Brewers petition to play all their games at Miller Park?

Kirk Nieuwenhuis has to be asking himself that question. The centerfielder continues to tear it up at home, with his two-homer, four-RBI game lifting the Brewers over the Chicago Cubs, 6-1, on a steamy Saturday night.

Jonathan Lucroy also homered, and Zach Davies turned in another strong start with 61/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball as Milwaukee knocked off its I-94 rival in front of a sellout crowd of 44,643.

But the story of the game was Nieuwenhuis, a .195 hitter for the season coming in. He went 3-for-3 with a walk and drove in four runs — his first production of any kind since the all-star break. Nieuwenhuis also was a .286 hitter at Miller Park, compared to just .116 in road games.

Davies came into the game having won just one of his previous five starts, yet still having been one of the Brewers’ most consistent starters along with Junior Guerra. Over his previous 13 starts he’d posted a 6-1 record and 2.95 ERA.

He got a quick 2-0 lead with which to work thanks to a first-inning homer by Lucroy. With Scooter Gennett on board and two outs, the Brewers catcher got into a protracted battle with Cubs starter John Lackey, fouling off five consecutive offerings before capping the 12-pitch at-bat by homering to left-center.

The Brewers had a chance to break the game open against Lackey in the third, with Kris Bryant’s two-out error at third base opening the door. Ryan Braun followed with a single and Lucroy walked to load the bases, but Chris Carter struck out.

Nieuwenhuis’ solo homer to center to open the fourth to stretch the lead to 3-0 for Davies, who had allowed two hits and two walks to that point. Nieuwenhuis snapped an 0-for-18 skid with a second-inning single.

A strikeout of Anthony Rizzo on a big breaking ball to end the fifth gave Davies 10 straight batters retired and 12 of 13 overall. He allowed four hits without a walk in seven shutout innings July 17 in Cincinnati, a start that was arguably one of his two best of the season.

Ben Zobrist opened the seventh with a single and after Willson Contreras flied out to center, Davies was done. Manager Craig Counsell called on Will Smith to face Jason Heyward, with Smith limiting left-handed hitters to a .179 average.

Heyward greeted Smith with a single to center against the shift, however, putting runners on the corners for Addison Russell. He then sent the first pitch he saw softly into center past a diving Jonathan Villar to break up the shutout.

Smith buckled down from there, striking out Javy Baez and getting Chicago’s best pinch-hitter, Matt Szczur, to ground out to Villar. The run was just the second allowed by Smith in eight July appearances (six innings).

Davies (7-4), meanwhile, allowed just three hits, one run (earned) and two walks to go with four strikeouts.

With Lackey having been lifted for Szczur, Cubs manager Joe Maddon went with left-hander Clayton Richard out of the bullpen and he was greeted by a Hernan Perez double. One pitch later he hit Ramon Flores in the chest on a bunt attempt and was replaced by Adam Warren, who surrendered a sacrifice bunt to pinch-hitter Jake Elmore.

Villar, up next, saw four pitches from Warren before the right-hander unleashed a pitch that sailed over Contreras and to the backstop. It caromed right to a hustling Contreras, who fired a perfect strike to a covering Warren to cut down Perez at the plate.

Counsell challenged home-plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth’s out call, but it stood after a review of 1 minute 39 seconds. One pitch later Villar struck out, and Milwaukee came up empty in a golden opportunity to tack onto its lead.

Tyler Thornburg needed just 12 pitches to record a 1-2-3 eighth. Then after Braun singled and Lucroy walked, Nieuwenhuis came up against left-hander Mike Montgomery and sneaked a three-run homer just inside the foul pole down the left-field line to break the game open.